Motorcycle choke position?

I'm in China and bought a 2001 Sundiro Honda 125cc motorcycle to get around.

The choke is different than my 1300vtx back home… And I need some help figuring it out.

The choke on this bike is a black lever on the left side of the engine, right next to the carb. There are three positions, up, middle, and down.

It is extremely cold here. The bike will only start in the UP position… Then after it warms up I can move it to the DOWN position where it will idle. This seems like a normal choke thing except for one thing… The bike will not hold idle and will stall out in the UP position… I have adjusted the idle screw for the DOWN position… Am doing this the opposite way? Also what is the middle position for? The bike won't start in the DOWN position, only in the UP position.

I'm hoping that I don't have the choke backwards… Should I mess with the idle screw in the UP position instead?

Added (1). The only way to warm up the bike is to put it in UP position and sit there for a few minutes holding the throttle open so it doesn't stall out.

Added (2). AH forgot to mention… If I try to ride it in the UP position… It gets bogged down and can't go up hills, etc… Running in the DOWN position, it reaches top speed, great rpms, etc runs just like it should… This is why I adjusted idle for DOWN position.

Experiment, see what works.

Don't mess with the idle screw anymore.
You SAID 'it is extremely cold', so let the engine warm up or you get out of bed in the morning and get your @ss out of where ever the poop you are.
Things seem(ed) to be fine, don't jump on your horse before you wake both you and the horse up, your horse will bite you.

Sounds like you got it.

Just a little cold blooded.

Normally a 3 position tap is on the fuel tank and is Off/On/Reserve
Chokes normally only have 2 positions On/Off or is a Pull and Twist knob
You do not say what model Honda which might help

Andy C

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